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John Mosser Public Library District

Cedar Township’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

John Mosser Public Library District serves Cedar Township’s 2,941 residents. Last year it lent 6,976 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,000 visits.

106 West Meek Street, Abingdon 61410 · about 24 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 20% of U.S. towns · #594 of 754 in Illinois. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
6,976
2.4 per resident
Visits a year
3,000
1 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
64
about 1 a week · 390 attended
Cardholders
16%
461 cards
Open
24 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Cedar Township’s library

Programs are almost all for children

100% of the 64 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 30 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, John Mosser Public Library District sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 16% of the people John Mosser Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

John Mosser Public Library District holds 26,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓

This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Cedar Township’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Cedar Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #594 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 20%
FewerMore
Illinois towns we grade (754)Ahead of 21%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $50K–$83K (8,735)Ahead of 19%

Cedar Township’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. Cedar Township is small (2,942 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Cedar Township

2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.67 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.67 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.5%

8.5% of Cedar Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois town and 7.5% nationally.

Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Cedar Township’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1 visits · typical 3Lower than 88%
Borrowing per resident 2.2 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 74%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1Lower than 86%
Kids’ borrowing 0.8 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 74%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 85%
Programs offered 21.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 68%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 42%Bottom 10%
Spending $36 per resident · typical $43Lower than 60%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in IL#246Most-used librariesof 260 towns
#214Most library borrowingof 259 towns
#19Best libraries for kidsof 30 towns
Size group

John Mosser Public Library District serves 2,941 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

3,000
visits
1 per resident
6,976
loans, print + digital
2.4 per resident
64
programs & events
390 attended
461
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week8people at a program
Every day10Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers26K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

6,976 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

6,976loans
Books & media (adults) 60%Kids’ books & media 32%E-books, audio & streaming 8%
How hard the shelves work
0.2×

Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.

From your couch

533 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Cedar Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–530
Ages 6–1134
Teens0
Adults0
All ages0
Little ones
0.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
4

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cedar Township last year.

390
people at programs
64
programs
The building

Find it

John Mosser Public Library District, 106 West Meek Street, Abingdon.

24
hours open a week
4,493
square feet
26K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home.

New in Cedar Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.15 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cedar Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$240
a year at retail prices · $20 a month

Who pays for it
$36 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $105K.

Local taxes 78%State 5%Gifts & other 17%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $121K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $105K budget.

Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.

Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 461 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Cedar TownshipJohn Mosser Public Library District fine-free2.424C−
Orange TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Floyd TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Indian Point TownshipNone of its own——C+
Galesburg TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits are a typical-week estimate. John Mosser Public Library District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.

Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →

Questions about the library and civic life in Cedar Township

Does Cedar Township have a public library?

Yes. John Mosser Public Library District, 106 West Meek Street, serves Cedar Township’s 2,941 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is John Mosser Public Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Cedar Township’s library?

It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Cedar Township’s civic life grade?

C− Cedar Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #594 of 754 in Illinois. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Cedar Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.